1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a computer product.
2. Description of the Related Art
In using an image processing apparatus, such as a copier, fax machine, printer, and a multifunction product (MFP) having combined functions of copying, faxing, printing, a user has to selects a function to execute from functions the image processing apparatus offers, and to make setting for desired functional contents. For example, the user needs to make setting on the condition of a document, such as the type and the density of the document, on various image processes, such as zoom, single-side/double-side printing, and margin size adjustment, and on postprocessing, such as sorting, stapling, and punching.
A conventional image processing apparatus provides enormous numbers of setting items and a plurality of setting contents for each item to allow a user to execute a variety of setting. The user, who wants to obtain a desired result, selects a type of setting out of those enormous setting items and contents.
The user, however, has no way to know what kind of a process result to receive according to setting contents in , using the conventional image processing apparatus. For example, the user has to wait for actual print-out from the image processing apparatus to know a print result for the user. The obtained print result often ends up in a kind of finished product that the user does not expect to get.
To solve the above problem, some apparatuses and systems have been proposed, which include a preview display apparatus. (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-5471) that displays a preview image showing the state of a printed result, an image processing apparatus (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-103726), that displays a preview image showing image data printed on a paper corresponding to selected paper image data when the paper image data to express a paper style of a different paper quality is selected, and an image forming system (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-234503) that displays a preview image of data made by synthesizing a plurality of edited and processed image data.
These conventional techniques offer a function of only displaying a preview of a single image, or an image synthesized from a plurality of images, that shows the result of image processes executed according to setting contents.
A user checks such preview images to make setting again for correction, which allows the user to perform setting operation while checking an image for a finished condition before proceeding to a print-out process, and finally obtain desired image output.
Those conventional techniques, however, have such a disadvantage in usability that a paging operation is required to turn pages one by one to find the overall structure of an image consisting of a plurality of pages or to find a specific image to check when the image consists of a number of pages of images, because each of the above conventional techniques features only the function of displaying a preview of a single image or an image synthesized from a plurality of images that shows the result of image processes executed according to setting contents.